PainCare Blog

By ANN CARRNS MAY 29, 2014 For years, some people on Medicare had difficulty getting insurance coverage approved for physical therapy, occupational therapy and other treatments. The prevailing approach was that if the therapy was not helping to improve a patient’s condition, then it was not eligible for coverage. “They’d get denied because they weren’t improving, or because they had plateaued,” …

By BARRY MEIER MAY 10, 2014 Four years and a lifetime ago, a new war began for Sgt. Shane Savage. On Sept. 3, 2010, the armored truck he was commanding near Kandahar, Afghanistan, was blown apart by a roadside bomb. His head hit the ceiling so hard that his helmet cracked. His left foot was pinned against the dashboard, crushing 24 …

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS In general, activities that involve impacts with the earth, such as running and jumping, are the most effective way to improve bone health, according to Dr. Jon Tobias, a professor of rheumatology at the University of Bristol who studies bone health. They create ground-reaction forces that move through your bones and stimulate them to “remodel” themselves and add …

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS Rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament in the knee is a nightmare. As the parent of a teenage son who is seven months out from A.C.L. reconstruction surgery, I can attest to the physical and psychological toll it can take, not to mention the medical bills. But a practical new study suggests that changing how sports teams warm up …

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS If you have never suffered from lingeringlow back pain, you’re lucky or, more likely, young. Up to 80 percent of us will experience low back pain at some point. And for most, there won’t be an identifiable cause. In the past 10 years, the most popular nonsurgical medical treatment for “chronic, nonspecific” low back pain has been injection …

By ANAHAD O’CONNOR For many people, the food-induced stupor that often follows a big meal is a good excuse for a nap. But for some, a brief walk shortly after eating is a quick way to burn some calories and aid digestion. Over the years, researchers have found that a post-meal walk, as short as 15 minutes, can in …

By JANE E. BRODY I regret that for most of my adult life, I treated sleep as more a luxury than a necessity. There was always something more to do before I crawled under the covers and turned out the light. I realize belatedly that I might have been more productive — and a lot nicer to live with — …

By ANAHAD O’CONNOR Are all calories created equal? A new study suggests that in at least one important way, they may not be. Sugary foods and drinks, white bread and other processed carbohydrates that are known to cause abrupt spikes and falls in blood sugar appear to stimulate parts of the brain involved in hunger, craving and reward, the new …

By AMY SCHOENFELD Published: May 11, 2011 Multimedia Mr. Drudge, 46, hasn’t just been sitting for two decades. Like so many workers chained to their technology, he has been hunched over desktops, laptops, smartphones and tablets, and it’s all taken a toll on his body. He tries to limit the time he spends sitting to four or five hours …

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS In the days before the London Marathon last year, scientists from the Research Group in Breast Health at the University of Portsmouth in England approached female racers at the event’s registration center and asked them to complete an anonymous questionnaire about their exercise habits and breast health. Gretchen Reynolds on the science of fitness. Marathon, half-marathon, 10K …